The Hajj and Europe

By

Eileen Kane

Return to Article

This Dutch engraving imagines the arrival of a hajj caravan from Istanbul to Mecca.

The Road to Mecca (1672)

This Dutch engraving imagines the arrival of a hajj caravan from Istanbul to Mecca. By Gaspar Bouttats after Jan Peeters, from the collection Views from Arabia, Judeo, Chaldea, Syria, Jerusalem, Antiochia, Aleppo, Mecca etc. (From the British Museum)

Pilgrims visit Mount Arafat during the 2009 hajj.

Pilgrims on Mount Arafat, 2009

Pilgrims visit Mount Arafat during the 2009 hajj. (Photo by Omar Chatriwala)

Thousands of air conditioned tents provide housing for pilgrims.

Tents in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Thousands of air conditioned tents provide housing for pilgrims in the Mina neighborhood of Mecca during the hajj.

Pilgrims traveling via the Heathrow Airport in London.

Pilgrims at the London Heathrow Airport, 2010

Pilgrims traveling via the Heathrow Airport in London. (Photo by Dudley Hubbard, British Museum)

Saudi security forces monitor hajj events on CCTV.

Security Monitors the Hajj, 2009

Saudi security forces monitor hajj events on CCTV.

Officials meet for the October launch of the 2011 British Hajj Consular Delegation.

British Hajj Consular Delegation Launch, 2011

Officials meet for the October launch of the 2011 British Hajj Consular Delegation.

Information materials on travel plans and safety for British hajj travelers.

Information Materials for British Hajj Travelers, 2011

Informational documents on travel plans and safety are disseminated by the British government during the 2011 launch of the British Hajj Consular Delegation in London. (From the Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

Construction around the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Construction Around the Grand Mosque in Mecca, 2014

In September 2015, a crane being used in ongoing renovations collapsed onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing at least 111 people.

Crowds traveling on the Jamarat Bridge.

Crowds Traveling on the Jamarat Bridge, 2011

In September, 2015 at least 2,236 people were killed en route to the Jamarat Bridge in a crowd crush disaster.

Hajj travel flier.

Hajj Travel Flier, 2010

A flier posted in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina providing visa and travel information for the 2010 hajj.

1889 photograph of the city of Mecca.

View of the City of Mecca, 1889

1889 photograph of the city of Mecca. (From The New York Public Library)

Pilgrims gather in a camp outside of Mecca during the hajj in 1889.

Pilgrim Camp Outside of Mecca, 1889

Pilgrims gather in a camp outside of Mecca during the hajj in 1889. (From The New York Public Library)

The British Hajj Delegation provides consular services, travel information, and medical services to travelers.

British Hajj Delegation Clinic, 2013

The British Hajj Delegation provides consular services, travel information, and medical services to travelers. (From The Council of British Hajjis on Twitter)

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with members of the country's Muslim religious leadership.

Putin Meeting Muslim Religious Leaders, 2002

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with members of the country's Muslim religious leadership during the 57th anniversary of World War II.

This is a depiction of a caravan traveling to Mecca from the Levant.

Mamluk-era caravan to Mecca, 1237

This depiction of a caravan traveling to Mecca from the Levant is part of a larger 1237 Arabic manuscript by al-Hairi of Basra.

Pilgrims await transport in the specially built Hajj Terminal of the King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Hajj Terminal of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah

Pilgrims await transport in the specially built Hajj Terminal of the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine)

Construction surrounding the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Construction surrounding the Grand Mosque in Mecca, 2010

Construction surrounding the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Abdürreşid Ibrahim and his children.

Abdürreşid Ibrahim

Picture of pan-Islamic intellectual and activist from Russia Abdürreşid Ibrahim (1857-1944) and his children.

Pilgrims on the Hijaz Railway in 1907.

Pilgrims on the Hijaz Railway, 1907

The Hijaz Railway transported pilgrims from the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Central Asia, Iran, and Iraq from Damascus to Medina. (From The British Museum)

Construction of Mu‘azzam Station in 1908.

Construction of Mu‘azzam Station, Hijaz Railway, 1908

The Ottoman government initiated plans for the construction of the Hijaz Railway to connect Damascus with Medina and Mecca in 1900. Although the route never reached Mecca, the connection to Medina was completed in 1908. (From The British Museum)

Ticket issued to pilgrims from the British Raj for travel from Bombay to Jeddah.

British Pilgrim Ticket

Ticket issued to pilgrims from the British Raj for travel from Bombay to Jeddah. (From the University of Cambridge)

Tent camps in Mina provide lodging for pilgrims.

Pilgrim Tents in Mina, 2011

Tent camps in Mina provide lodging for pilgrims.

Pilgrims travel along the Jamarat Bridge during the hajj.

The Jamarat Bridge During the Hajj, 2011

Pilgrims travel along the Jamarat Bridge during the hajj, 2011

Pilgrims gather at the Grand Mosque around the Kaaba.

The Grand Mosque and Kaaba, 1907

Pilgrims gather at the Grand Mosque around the Kaaba, 1907

View from above of the Jamarat Bridge, 2009.

Aerial View of the Jamarat Bridge, 2009

View from above of the Jamarat Bridge, 2009 (Photo by Omar Chatriwala)

Pilgrims arrive for the hajj by boat at the Jeddah Port in 1957.

Pilgrims Arrive to Jeddah by Boat, 1957

Pilgrims arrive for the hajj by boat at the Jeddah Port, 1957.

Pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the hajj.

The Kaaba During the Hajj, 2008

Pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the hajj, 2008

Share: